Clara Barton Camp

Diabetes? It is quietly tucked into an awesome daily schedule where life with diabetes is the norm and the most important thing is to have the time of your life with other girls who are just like you. Diabetes education is an integral part of what we do at The Barton Center. Whether off camp, in cabins, sitting poolside, trailside, or on the soccer field, there are numerous “teachable moments,” some planned, some not.

Days are filled with sports activities, arts and crafts, swimming, talent shows, casino nights, Hike to Heck (a mudhole), campfires, an occasional outdoor overnight, dances with the boys from Camp Joslin, diabetes education game shows, boating, hiking, occasional field trips, and so much more. Activities vary from week to week. For 90 years, girls between the ages of 6 and 16 with type 1 diabetes have enjoyed the life-altering experience of Clara Barton Camp, with access to more than 200 acres, in North Oxford, Massachusetts. Most return year after year.

Clara Barton Camp sessions are set amidst a beautiful campus featuring beautiful, modernized log cabins that encircle the Barton pond, a state-of-the art health care and conference center, a high and low ropes challenge course (age appropriate), hiking trails, swimming pool, and the historic Clara Barton Birthplace.

Barton staff to camper ratio, which meets or exceeds typical camp requirements, includes a team of health care professionals consisting of physicians, nurses, dietitians, and mental health professionals. Our well-trained counselors serve as wonderful role models, as most have type 1 diabetes themselves and were Barton campers when they were younger. The deep friendships our campers make with each other last a lifetime.